Crypto integration platform

ABSTRACT

A system, includes at least one processor; and at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor. The at least one processor is configured to receive an order to execute a trade of at least one transactional item associated with a first account, wherein the order, the first account, and a second account are associated with a common identifier; generate a first transaction to transfer the at least one transactional item from the first account to the second account; generate a second transaction that includes the order; verify that the first transaction was authorized by a same party as the second transaction; and authorize placement of the order on an exchange if the first transaction was authorized by the same party as the second transaction.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/235,534 entitled “CRYPTO INTEGRATION PLATFORM”and filed on Dec. 28, 2018 (currently pending) which is a continuationapplication of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/017,359 entitled“CRYPTO INTEGRATION PLATFORM” and filed on Feb. 5, 2016 (currentlypending) which is a non-provisional of and claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/113,931, filed on Feb. 9, 2015, entitled“CRYPTO INTEGRATION PLATFORM,” which is hereby incorporated by referencein its entirety for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Various embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate totrading. More specifically, various embodiments of the presentdisclosure relate to systems and methods for trading digitaltransactional items such as assets, liabilities, commodities, and/orcurrencies using distributed and cryptographic (“crypto”) techniques.

BACKGROUND

Recent increasing adoption of crypto currencies (e.g., Bitcoin)worldwide creates challenges for existing trading systems. For example,market data and ownership data are stored differently. Additionally,existing trading systems use protocols for pre-trade communications andexecution that are not compatible with trading systems that tradedigital transactional items.

The present disclosure overcomes these and other limitations of existingtrading systems, and provides other benefits as will become clearer tothose skilled in the art from the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described and explainedthrough the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a network-based operating environmentin accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a set of components in a Crypto Integration Platformaccording to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating interaction of components used intrading digital transactional items;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an architecture of a Crypto IntegrationPlatform;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of trading digitaltransactional items from the perspective of a broker-dealer;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of trading digitaltransactional items;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process of trading digitaltransactional items;

FIG. 8 illustrates a process of integrating a customer into the CryptoIntegration Platform to allow the customer to trade digitaltransactional items;

FIG. 9 illustrates a process of creating an order to trade digitaltransactional items;

FIG. 10 illustrates a process of receiving and processing an order topurchase digital transactional items;

FIG. 11 illustrates a process of receiving and processing an order tosell digital transactional items;

FIG. 12 illustrates a process of canceling a transaction to sell orpurchase digital transactional items;

FIG. 13 illustrates a process of settling and clearing transactions forthe purchase or sale of digital transactional items; and

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of a computer system with which someembodiments of the present disclosure may be utilized.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate totrading digital transactional items, more particularly digital assets,such as securities. More specifically, various embodiments of thepresent disclosure relate to systems and methods for trading digitalsecurities using distributed and cryptographic techniques, and, inparticular, a Crypto Integration Platform. The Crypto IntegrationPlatform receives orders to trade digital transactional items such asdigital assets, liabilities, commodities, and/or currencies (e.g.,digital securities, digital interests in securities, crypto currencies)for other digital transactional times such as digital representations offunds (e.g., tokens, cash, cash equivalents such as crypto currencies)on a cryptographic (“crypto”) exchange (i.e., an exchange that tradesdigital transactional items) from broker-dealers and translates theorders into crypto orders.

The Crypto Integration Platform aggregates market information from thecrypto exchanges and serves as a router to locate the best price in thecrypto market for the digital asset or liability involved in thetransaction. Prior to matching orders, the Crypto Integration Platformsecures both the digital transactional items (i.e., the funds for a buyorder and the digital assets or liabilities for a sell order) andcryptographically signs the transactions. Once a potential matchingorder has been located, the Crypto Integration Platform verifies thatthe funds and the digital assets/liabilities are available for trade(e.g., associated with addressed accounts owned by the buyer and theseller) and clears and settles the transaction instantaneously byassociating the funds and digital assets or liabilities withcorresponding addressed accounts.

Benefits of the Crypto Integration Platform include guaranteedsettlement, transparency of ownership and easy money movement, andsecure settlements. Cryptographically signing the transactions ensuresauthentication, authorization, and provenance.

The Crypto Integration Platform provides, among other things, aninterface between legacy trading systems and crypto exchanges that tradedigital transactional items. In doing so, the Crypto IntegrationPlatform takes a protocol for trading and communication betweenbroker-dealers, Alternative Trading Systems (“ATS”), and exchanges, andtransforms the message so that the trade can be consummated usingcryptographic techniques. For example, one protocol is the FinancialInformation eXchange protocol or “FIX” protocol. The Crypto IntegrationPlatform allows broker-dealers to integrate the technology describedherein on the backend of legacy trading systems, opening up legacytrading systems to crypto exchanges. Thus, the Crypto IntegrationPlatform allows more companies to enjoy access to capital and moreinvestors to enjoy access to shares of the participating companies.Messages in the FIX protocol are used in many examples in the presentdisclosure. However, the Crypto Integration Platform can receive andtransform messages in protocols other than the FIX protocol to beconsummated using cryptographic techniques.

The Crypto Integration Platform uses crypto ledgers or distributedledgers (e.g., block chains) to verify ownership and availability of thedigital transactional items being exchanged. The Crypto IntegrationPlatform, or components of it, may be used by securities issuers toconduct initial public offerings and other SEC-registered publicofferings of securities, and by the general public to trade thosesecurities in secondary market transactions.

The digital transactional items traded on crypto exchanges may betransferred to other owners using cryptographic techniques such aspublic-key cryptography and bidirectional encryption, as well known inthe art. Public-key cryptography requires a key pair, where the two keysare mathematically linked. One key is a public key that is freely sharedamong nodes in a peer-to-peer network. The other key is a private keythat is not shared with the public. The public key is used to encryptplaintext and to verify a digital signature. The private key is used todecrypt cipher text and to digitally sign transactions. Transactionmessages may be digitally signed by the sender's private key toauthenticate the sender's identity. Then, the sender's digitally-signedtransaction message may be decrypted using the sender's public key toverify that the sender originated the transaction.

Ownership of the digital transactional items may be based on ownershipentries in distributed ledgers that are maintained by network nodes. Thedistributed ledgers (e.g., block chain for Bitcoin) record entries foreach change of ownership of each digital transactional item and may bemathematically linked to the key pairs. To sell a digital asset ordigital liability, a transaction message (e.g., in packets or other datastructures) may be broadcast to nodes on a peer-to-peer network. Thetransaction message can be signed by the seller's private key and mayinclude information such as a history of the chain of title of thedigital asset or digital liability, the number of shares or items beingtransferred and the purchaser's public key-based address. When amajority of the nodes in the network agree that the sender has theproper chain of title, ownership is changed to the purchaser and theledger is updated to indicate the transaction.

Integrating a crypto trading system (i.e., a system that trades digitalassets or liabilities on a crypto exchange) into a traditional tradingsystem creates challenges that the present disclosure addresses. Forexample, this disclosure introduces a process in which orders to tradedigital assets or liabilities are submitted via a legacy system. Inanother example, this disclosure introduces a process to ensure that acrypto trading order originally received into the legacy system isauthorized by the same entity as the original order. Additionally, thisdisclosure introduces a system and method for matching cryptographictransactions based on non-shared private keys and shared public keys.

The techniques introduced here can be embodied as special-purposehardware (e.g., circuitry), as programmable circuitry appropriatelyprogrammed with software and/or firmware, or as a combination ofspecial-purpose and programmable circuitry. Hence, embodiments mayinclude a machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructionsthat may be used to program a computer (or other electronic devices) toperform a process. The machine-readable medium may include, for example,floppy diskettes, optical disks, compact disc read-only memories(CD-ROMs), magneto-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), randomaccess memories (RAMs), erasable programmable read-only memories(EPROMs), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories(EEPROMs), magnetic or optical cards, flash memory, or other type ofmedia/machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronicinstructions.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a network-based operating environment100 in which some embodiments of the present disclosure may be used. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, operating environment 100 includes applications105A-105N running on one or more computing devices 110A-110M (such as amobile device, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a mobile media device,a mobile gaming device, a vehicle-based computer, a dedicated terminal,a public terminal, desktop or laptop computer, a kiosk, etc.). In someembodiments, applications 105A-105N are used for carrying out operationssuch as generating orders, and checking account balances may be storedon the computing devices or may be stored remotely. These computingdevices can include mechanisms for receiving and sending traffic byconnecting through network 120 to Crypto Integration Platform 125 andbroker-dealer(s) 115.

Computing devices 110A-110M are configured to communicate via network120 with broker-dealer(s) 115 and Crypto Integration Platform 125. Insome embodiments, computing devices 110A-110M can retrieve or submitinformation to Crypto Integration Platform 125 and run one or moreapplications with customized content retrieved by Crypto IntegrationPlatform 125 and broker-dealer 115. For example, computing devices110A-110M each can execute a browser application or a customized clientto enable interaction between the computing devices 110A-110M and CryptoIntegration Platform 125 and broker-dealer 115.

Broker-dealer(s) 115 are entities (i.e., natural persons, companies, orother organizations) that engage in the business of trading assets(e.g., securities, mutual fund shares, etc.) for their own account or onbehalf of their customers. When executing trade orders on behalf of acustomer, the entity acts as a broker. When executing trades for its ownaccount, the entity acts as a dealer. Broker-dealer(s) 115 may receiveorders from computing devices 110A-110M or create their own orders.Broker-dealer(s) 115 may communicate orders to Crypto IntegrationPlatform 125 via network 120. The orders sent by broker-dealer(s) 115may use the FIX protocol or other protocols and/or formats.

Crypto Integration Platform 125 can run on one or more servers and canbe used to trade digital transactional items. In some embodiments, asillustrated, Crypto Integration Platform 125 includes a Crypto Adapter130, Crypto Bridge 135, and Crypto Matching Component 140.

Crypto Adapter 130 receives orders for trading digital transactionalitems from broker-dealer(s) 115 and, in some embodiments, directly fromcomputing devices 110A-110M. The orders are received by Crypto Adapter130 in a conventional protocol/format commonly used by broker-dealer(s)115 (e.g., FIX messages). Crypto Adapter 130 translates the orders intocryptographic transactions, verifies ownership of assets and funds inthe orders using Crypto Ledger(s) 160, cryptographically signs thecryptographic transactions to transfer assets and funds, and verifiesthat the cryptographic transaction is authorized by the same customerauthorizing the FIX order. Crypto Bridge 135 aggregates and providesmarket data from Crypto Exchange(s) 155 to broker-dealer(s) 115. CryptoMatching Component 140 matches buy and sell orders of the digitalassets, executes the orders, and returns execution reports tobroker-dealer(s) 115 in the existing broker-dealer(s)'s format. Thus,the Crypto Integration Platform 125 seamlessly integrates into theoperations of current broker-dealer(s) 115 to allow broker-dealer(s) 115to trade securities on Crypto Exchange(s) 155 without knowledge ofpublic or private keys, ledgers, and block chains.

Crypto Integration Platform 125 is communicably coupled with one or moreATS 150, Crypto Exchange(s) 155, and Crypto Ledger(s) 160 throughnetwork 145.

Network 120 and network 145 can be the same network or can be separatenetworks and can be any combination of local area and/or wide areanetworks, using wired and/or wireless communication systems. Eithernetwork 120 or network 145 could be or could use any or more of thefollowing protocols/technologies: Ethernet, IEEE 802.11 or Wi-Fi,worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), cellulartelecommunication (e.g., 3G, 4G, 5G), CDMA, cable, digital subscriberline (DSL), etc. Similarly, the networking protocols used on network 120and network 145 may include multiprotocol label switching (MPLS),transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), User DatagramProtocol (UDP), hypertext transport protocol (HTTP), simple mailtransfer protocol (SMTP) and file transfer protocol (FTP). Dataexchanged over network 120 and network 145 may be represented usingtechnologies, languages and/or formats including hypertext markuplanguage (HTML) or extensible markup language (XML). In addition, all orsome links can be encrypted using conventional encryption technologiessuch as secure sockets layer (SSL), transport layer security (TLS), andInternet Protocol security (Ipsec).

ATS(s) 150 are non-exchange trading systems that find counterparties fortransactions by matching buyers and sellers. ATS(s) 150 are analternative to traditional stock exchanges. Examples of ATS(s) 150include electronic communication networks (ECNs), crossing networks,dark pools, and call markets. ATS(s) 150 receive digitally signed FIXorders from Crypto Integration Platform 125, find potential buy/sellorder matches to trade digital assets, and contain a state of the orderbook which records the state of the orders.

Crypto Exchanges(s) 155 are exchanges that trade digital transactionalitems such as digital shares of stock, bonds, or currency. Digitalshares of stock may be of the same class of stock as securities listedon traditional exchanges. Ownership of the digital transactional itemsin Crypto Exchange(s) 155 can be recorded on one or more distributedledgers such as Crypto Ledger(s) 160. Crypto Exchange(s) 155 receivedigitally signed crypto transactions (e.g., orders, cancellations) fromCrypto Integration Platform 125.

Crypto Ledger(s) 160 record economic transactions such as the sale ofdigital assets or liabilities in exchange for funds. Crypto Ledger(s)160 vary per unit. For example, Bitcoin uses a distributed public ledgercalled the block chain. When Crypto Ledger(s) 160 receives a transactionsigned with the proper key from Crypto Integration Platform 125 and thetransaction is verified by network nodes, the Crypto Ledger(s) 160 movesthe digital transactional items to the proper address (e.g., the properwallet) by recording the transaction (e.g., adding a block chain intothe ledger).

Various data stores can be used to manage storage and access to digitalsecurities, user information, and other data. The data stores may bedistributed data stores such as Crypto Ledger(s) 160. The data storesmay be a data repository of a set of integrated objects that are modeledusing classes defined in database schemas. Data stores may furtherinclude flat files that can store data. Crypto Integration Platform 125and/or other servers may collect and/or access data from the datastores.

FIG. 2 illustrates a set of components within Crypto IntegrationPlatform 125 according to one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. According to the embodiments shown in FIG. 2, CryptoIntegration Platform can include memory 205, one or more processor(s)210, Crypto Adapter 215, Crypto Bridge 220, and Crypto MatchingComponent 225. Other embodiments may include some, all, or none of thesemodules and components along with other modules, applications, and/orcomponents. Still yet, some embodiments may incorporate two or more ofthese modules and components into a single module and/or associate aportion of the functionality of one or more of these modules with adifferent module. For example, in one embodiment, Crypto Bridge 220 andCrypto Matching Component 225 can be combined into a single component.

Memory 205 can be any device, mechanism, or populated data structureused for storing information. In accordance with some embodiments of thepresent disclosure, memory 205 can be or include, for example, any typeof volatile memory, nonvolatile memory, and dynamic memory. For example,memory 205 can be random access memory, memory storage devices, opticalmemory devices, magnetic media, floppy disks, magnetic tapes, harddrives, erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), electricallyerasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), compact discs, DVDs,and/or the like. In accordance with some embodiments, memory 205 mayinclude one or more disk drives, flash drives, one or more databases,one or more tables, one or more files, local cache memories, processorcache memories, relational databases, flat databases, and/or the like.In addition, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate manyadditional devices and techniques for storing information which can beused as memory 205.

Memory 205 may be used to store instructions for running one or moreapplications or modules on processor(s) 210. For example, memory 205could be used in one or more embodiments to house all or some of theinstructions needed to execute the functionality of Crypto Adapter 215,Crypto Bridge 220, and Crypto Matching Component 225.

Crypto Adapter

Crypto Adapter 215 serves as the interface between broker-dealers andcrypto exchanges. Crypto Adapter 215 communicates with Crypto Bridge 220to provide market data to the broker-dealers from the crypto exchanges.Crypto Adapter 215 also integrates new customers by storing a customeridentifier provided by the broker-dealer and generating two separate keypairs. Each key pair has one private key and one public key. The twoparts of the key pair are mathematically linked. The public key of a keypair may be published without compromising security, whereas the privatekey of a key pair must not be revealed to anyone not authorized to readmessages or perform digital signatures.

The two key pairs are used to create two addressed accounts associatedwith the customer identifier. The addressed accounts may be referred toas “wallets.” Both wallets represent digital accounts. The first wallet,referred to at times, herein as the customer portfolio wallet, storesdigital transactional items such as digital assets and liabilities(e.g., digital shares of stocks) and digital funds (e.g., digitizeddollars, tokens, crypto currency). In some embodiments, the customerassociated with the customer identifier owns the key pair for thewallet, but authorizes Crypto Adapter 215 to use the key pair tocomplete transactions on behalf of the customer. In other embodiments,Crypto Adapter 215 or a third party owns the customer portfolio wallet.The second wallet, referred to at times herein as the customer committedwallet, stores digital transactional times that the customer has placedin buy or sell orders that have not yet been completed (e.g.,“committed” assets or funds). Crypto Adapter 215 either owns the keysfor the customer committed wallet or is authorized to use the keys tothe customer committed wallet. In some embodiments, a parent wallet maybe created that includes many different customer portfolio wallet andcustomer committed wallet keys. The parent wallet may include keys fordifferent public ledgers thereby providing one master account for abroker-dealer.

Crypto Adapter 215 can receive a request from a broker-dealer to obtainthe balance of the wallets. Using the customer identifier, CryptoAdapter 215 can identify the correct customer portfolio wallet andcustomer committed wallet. Then, Crypto Adapter 215 can use thecorresponding public key for the customer portfolio wallet and thecustomer committed wallet to obtain the balance for each wallet from oneor more crypto ledgers.

Crypto Adapter 215 can receive a FIX order message (or similar message)that includes a buy, sell, or cancel order associated with a customeridentifier from broker-dealers. If the order is a buy order, the FIXorder message indicates that the broker-dealer has U.S. dollars (orother currency) for the transaction on deposit. Therefore, CryptoAdapter 215 issues a representation that funds from the customer arebeing held at the broker-dealer specifically to settle the trade. Therepresentation can be a digital liability or IOU from the broker-dealer.Such digital representation may be stored in or associated with thecustomer portfolio wallet. In some embodiments, the funds could be sentvia a crypto currency transaction from a wallet (i.e., addressedaccount) of a broker-dealer to the customer portfolio wallet.

Crypto Adapter 215 creates a crypto committed transaction (i.e., atransaction involving buying or selling digital assets or liabilities onthe crypto exchange) for the buy order which includes information forthe transfer of digital liabilities from a source account (i.e.,customer portfolio wallet) to a destination account (i.e., customercommitted wallet) and signs the crypto committed transaction with theprivate key of the customer portfolio wallet. The crypto committedtransaction may include the USD token, the customer identifier, and/orthe public key of the committed wallet. After the transaction is signedby the Crypto Adapter 215 and verified by the network nodes, thetransfer of the USD token to the customer committed wallet is completedand the transaction is updated in the crypto ledger.

In addition to creating a crypto committed transaction, Crypto Adapter215 creates a FIX order transaction. To create the FIX ordertransaction, Crypto Adapter 215 takes a non-crypto FIX order, maps thecustomer to a set of wallets and keys using the customer identifier, andcreates and signs the FIX transaction with the customer portfolio walletprivate key. The FIX transaction may be enriched with the output of thecrypto order transaction, specifically a transaction identifier or hashof the crypto transaction order. The FIX order transaction can include amessage type (e.g., buy, sell), order identifier, funding transactionhash, return account, and a public key. Before sending the FIX ordertransaction to the ATS, the signature authorizing the FIX ordertransaction is compared to the signature authorizing the cryptocommitted transaction. If the signatures match, then the order can besent to the ATS. Thus, signing the FIX order transaction and the cryptoorder transaction with the same private key allows Crypto Adapter 215 tomathematically verify that the order originated from the same entity.This prevents attackers from monitoring the public ledger and trying tocreate fraudulent orders which appear to be backed by a committed order.

Crypto Adapter 215 routes the signed FIX order transaction to an ATS tofind a potentially matching sell order. Crypto Adapter 215 routes thesigned crypto committed transaction to Crypto Bridge 220, whicheventually routes the signed crypto committed transaction to a cryptoexchange to find a matching sell order. As discussed below, CryptoBridge 220 compares the signatures on the FIX order transaction and thecrypto committed transaction. Public-key cryptography can be used todetermine whether the signatures match. Crypto Adapter 215 also createsand delivers execution reports to the broker-dealer informing thebroker-dealer that the buy order is pending. Crypto Adapter 215 alsoreceives execution reports from the Crypto Matching Component 225 thatCrypto Adapter 215 forwards to broker dealers.

Crypto Adapter 215 processes sell orders in much the same manner as buyorders except that Crypto Adapter 215 does not issue a USD token orother digital representation because the digital security is backed bythe organization that issued it.

Crypto Adapter 215 receives cancel orders from broker-dealers. CryptoAdapter 215 receives a cancel order request and maps customeridentifiers to customer committed wallets. After obtaining walletbalances from one or more crypto ledgers, Crypto Adapter creates a FIXcancel transaction and signs the transaction with the customer committedwallet private key. After Crypto Adapter 215 verifies that the FIXcancel transaction was signed by the same private key as the originalcrypto order transaction (e.g., using public-key cryptography), a cryptocancel transaction order is created. Crypto Adapter 215 signs the cryptocancel transaction with the customer committed wallet private key toeffectuate the transfer of the funds or assets to the customer portfoliowallet by the crypto ledger. Signing the crypto cancel transactionensures that the entity originating the cancel order is authorized to doso. This prevents attackers from surreptitiously removing orders tofront run the transactions.

Crypto Bridge

Crypto Bridge 220 receives requests for market data on the cryptoexchanges from Crypto Adapter 215. Crypto Bridge 220 aggregatesinformation from the crypto exchanges and serves as a router to locatethe best price in the crypto market for the security involved in thetransaction. The Crypto Bridge can aggregate the data by monitoringcrypto ledgers to generate a current snapshot of the order book bysubscribing to order information which is visible on the public ledger.The crypto exchanges may have different distributed ledgers. CryptoBridge 220 further provides a single interface for broker-dealers bynormalizing different distributed ledgers. For example, variousdistributed ledgers may be used and these distributed ledgers may havedifferent application programming interfaces with different associatedkeys. Crypto Bridge 220 accesses the data from all the distributedledgers and provides the data in one standard format. Thus,broker-dealers enjoy access to a crypto exchange without dealing withdisparate wallet and key generation, committed transactions, retrievalof balances, among other things.

Crypto Matching Component

Crypto Matching Component 225 receives a match request from an ATS thatidentifies two committed orders (i.e., orders in which the digitaltransactional items have been transferred to the customer committedwallets) that are potentially a match. The match request includes theorder identifiers for each committed transaction. Crypto MatchingComponent 225 maps order identifiers to the committed customer portfoliowallet for each order. Crypto Matching Component 225 obtains thebalances of the customer committed wallets from the crypto ledger toensure that from the selling side, the asset or liability is availableand committed for the transaction, and from the buying side, that thefunds are available and committed for the transaction. Crypto MatchingComponent matches the request response and includes the counterpartyhashes or signatures from the customer portfolio wallets. CryptoMatching Component then settles and clears the transactions by deductingfrom the customer committed wallets and crediting the customer portfoliowallets for each party using the counterparty hashes or signatures fromthe customer portfolio wallets.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating interaction of components used intrading digital assets. As shown in FIG. 3, customers (302, 304, 306,308, 310, 312, 314, 316) interface with broker-dealers (318, 320). Thebroker-dealers receive orders from the customers to trade non-digitalassets or liabilities on traditional exchanges as well as orders totrade digital assets or liabilities on crypto exchanges (332, 334). Ifan order involves trading digital transactional items, the order isrouted to the Crypto Adapter (322) in a standard format forbroker-dealers such as FIX orders. Using cryptographic techniques, theCrypto Adapter (322) transfers the digital transactional itemscorresponding to the order from the customer portfolio wallet to thecustomer committed wallet, which creates a “signed crypto transaction.”The signed crypto transaction is sent to the Crypto Bridge (328). Then,the Crypto Adapter (322) creates and signs a FIX transaction order whichis sent to one or more ATSs (324, 326). The Crypto Adapter (322)verifies that the FIX transaction and the crypto transaction wereauthorized by the same party by comparing cryptographic signatures.

Assuming that the signatures match, Crypto Matching Component (330)receives a potential match for the orders from one or the ATSs (324,326) or one of the Crypto Exchanges (332, 334). In some embodiments, theorders can be sent to more than one ATS and/or more than one CryptoExchanges. The Crypto Matching Component verifies that the digitaltransactional items are available and instantaneously clears and settlesthe transaction.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an architecture of a Crypto IntegrationPlatform 125. As shown, broker-dealers (402) communicate with the CryptoIntegration Platform 125 (408, 410, 412) via one or more networks (404,406). The Crypto Integration Platform 125 communicates with cryptoledgers (416, 418) via one or more networks (414). Once an order topurchase or sell digital transactional items, or to cancel an order, isreceived by broker-dealers (402), adapter (408) creates a transaction onthe legacy system that will be sent to an ATS and to a cryptographicexchange. Information including wallet keys, user information, andtransactions are created and stored in databases (420, 422, 424) and onvarious distributed ledgers (416, 418). Assets are verified and movedinto the customer committed wallets and the transactions are signed.Market data is gathered from distributed public ledgers such as theblock chain. As shown with the multiple crypto ledgers (416, 418), thetransaction is agnostic to the type of distributed ledger used to recordthe transaction. Bridge (410) normalizes the market data from thevarious cryptographic exchanges. Orders are matched in the matchingcomponent (412).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process 500 of trading digitalassets from the perspective of a broker-dealer, using the CryptoIntegration Platform. Receiving operation 502 receives an order from acustomer at a computing device of a broker-dealer. The order may includean order to buy or sell one or more digital transactional items, or anorder to cancel a pre-existing order. Upon receiving the order, thebroker-dealer may create an order message in the FIX protocol (or otherprotocol) and send the order to the Crypto Integration Platform insending operation 504. After the Crypto Integration Platform checks thecustomer account balances (i.e., balances of the customer portfoliowallet and the customer committed wallet) and commits the digital fundsor asset to the order, the broker-dealer receives execution reports withthe status of the order (e.g., order pending, order executed, ordercanceled) in receiving operation 506. The execution reports are providedin the same format that the broker-dealer receives from trades that takeplace on typical exchanges.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process 600 of trading digitaltransactional items from the perspective of the Crypto IntegrationPlatform. In some embodiments, the operations performed in FIG. 6 can beperformed by the Crypto Adapter. In some embodiments, fewer or moreoperations may be performed or the operations may be performed indifferent orders.

Creating operation 602 creates a first addressed account (e.g., customerportfolio wallet) and a second addressed account (e.g., customercommitted wallet) for a customer. The first and second addressedaccounts can each have an associated key pair and may both be associatedwith a customer identifier. Various digital transactional items owned bythe customer can be associated with the first and second addressedaccounts. Receiving operation 604 receives an order to buy or selldigital transactional items such as a digital security.

Signing operation 606 can electronically sign a first transaction totransfer the digital transactional items from the first addressedaccount to the second addressed account with a private key associatedwith the first addressed account. Signing operation 606 can alsoelectronically sign a second transaction with the private key of thefirst addressed account, a second transaction. Verifying operation 608verifies that the first transaction was signed with the same private keyas the second transaction. Authorizing operation 610 authorizesplacement of the digital transactional items on a cryptographic exchangeafter verifying that the first transaction was signed with the sameprivate key as the second transaction.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process 700 of trading digitaltransactional items from the perspective of the Crypto IntegrationPlatform. In some embodiments, the operations performed in FIG. 7 can beperformed by the Crypto Matching Component. In some embodiments, feweror more operations may be performed or the operations may be performedin different orders.

Receiving operation 702 receives a request to match a buy transactionwith a sell transaction. The buy transaction can include a buy order topurchase digital transactional items for a specified amount (e.g., anamount corresponding to a value of the digital transactional items) andthe sell transaction can include a sell order to sell the digitaltransactional items for an amount. The customer purchasing the digitaltransactional items can have two addressed accounts: a first customerportfolio wallet and a first customer committed wallet. The customerselling the digital transactional items can also have two addressedaccounts: a second customer portfolio wallet and a second customercommitted wallet.

The buy transaction can have an associated first signature thatcorresponds to the first addressed account (e.g., first customerportfolio wallet) that identifies the buy order. The sell transactioncan have an associated second signature corresponding to a secondaddressed account (e.g., second customer portfolio wallet) thatidentifies the sell order. The amount of funds can be associated with athird addressed account associated with the first customer (e.g., firstcustomer committed wallet) and the one or more digital transactionalitems can be associated with a fourth addressed account associated withthe second customer (e.g., second customer committed wallet).

Mapping operation 704 maps the buy transaction to the third addressedaccount (e.g., first customer committed wallet) and the sell transactionto a fourth addressed account (e.g., second customer committed wallet);

Sending operation 706 sends a match request response to thecryptographic exchange. The match request can include the firstsignature and the second signature to commit the buy transaction.Transferring operation 708 transfers the digital transactional items tothe first addressed account (e.g., first customer portfolio wallet).Transferring operation 710 transfers the amount to the second addressedaccount (e.g., second customer portfolio wallet) to settle and clear thebuy transaction and the sell transaction.

Creating a Customer

FIG. 8 illustrates a process 800 of integrating a new customer into theCrypto Integration Platform to allow the customer to trade digitalsecurities. When a user signs up (802), the broker-dealer, via a userinterface (“UI”), collects customer data such as name, bank accountinformation, and securities owned by the customer (804). The customerdata may be verified in a Know Your Customer (“KYC”) process (or otherprocess) (806) that receives data from the customer (808) and verifiesthe identity of the customer (810). The KYC process may be completed byan outside vendor or by the broker-dealer. If the identity of thecustomer is verified, the broker-dealer creates the customer in thebroker-dealer's system (812). The broker-dealer may assign a customeridentifier such as a customer identification number or other identifierto the customer.

Once the broker-dealer assigns the customer identifier to the customer,the customer identifier and customer data can be sent to the CryptoAdapter where the customer identifier and the customer data are storedin one or more databases (814). The Crypto Adapter can generate a keypair (e.g., a public key and a private key pair) for the customer (816)and create a customer portfolio wallet associated with the key pair andthe customer identifier (816). The customer portfolio wallet can hold(i.e., be associated with) any digital transactional item such as funds(e.g., digital currency or a representation of currency) and digitalassets or liabilities (e.g., digital shares of stock) owned by thecustomer.

Additionally, a second set of key pairs and a second digital walletassociated with the second set of key pairs and the customer identifieris created (818). The customer committed wallet may be used to securedigital transactional items committed in future orders, akin to anescrow account. Balances of the customer portfolio wallet and thecustomer committed wallet are recorded in distributed ledgers and can beaccessed using the key pairs. In some embodiments, a third party may becommissioned to create the customer portfolio wallet and the customercommitted wallet and to generate the corresponding key pairs. Once thecustomer portfolio wallet and customer committed wallet are created, theCrypto Adapter indicates to the broker-dealer that the customer issuccessfully created (820). The broker-dealer can receive the indicationof successful creation of the customer (822).

Creating an Order

FIG. 9 illustrates a process 900 of creating an order to trade digitalsecurities. The customer may login to the broker-dealer via a userinterface (“UI”). After the customer logs in (902), broker-dealer mayrequest Crypto Level 1 data (i.e., market data for securities trading oncryptographic exchanges such as the last bid and ask price for one ormore securities) (904). This type of data can be used by traders to makebuy, bid, and ask decisions for future trades. The request for theCrypto Level 1 data may be routed to the Crypto Bridge (906), whichaggregates the data from one or more cryptographic exchanges. The CryptoBridge retrieves the Crypto Level 1 data from the cryptographicexchanges (908, 910) and normalizes the data to produce the Crypto Level1 data in a format used by existing systems of broker-dealers (912). Insome embodiments, the broker-dealer requests additional data such asCrypto Level 2 data, which provides additional market data such as ahistory of the orders that have occurred over a period of time. TheCrypto Bridge publishes, sends or otherwise makes the Crypto Level 1data available to the interface of the broker-dealer (914).

The broker-dealer may request the balance of the assets (i.e.,securities and digital funds) of the customer portfolio wallet and thecustomer committed wallet (916). The Crypto Adapter then uses thecustomer identifier sent by the broker-dealer to map the customeridentifier to the customer portfolio wallet and the customer committedwallet (918). The customer portfolio wallet data and the customercommitted wallet data are recorded with distributed crypto ledgers asopposed to a database owned by an exchange in typical trading systemstoday (e.g., New York Stock Exchange owns its trading data) (918).Therefore, to provide the wallet data to the broker-dealers, the CryptoAdapter gathers the wallet data from crypto ledgers.

To determine the balance of the customer and/or customer committedwallets, distributed ledgers are searched using the key pairs for thecustomer portfolio and/or customer committed wallets, respectively (920,922). Once the balance is determined (924), the Crypto Adapter thenprovides the balance, including digital funds and digital assets, ofboth the customer portfolio wallet, which includes any settled balances,and the customer committed wallet to the user interface of thebroker-dealer (926). The broker-dealer can display the balancesassociated with the customer portfolio wallet and/or the customercommitted wallet (928) and may then receive a buy or sell order from thecustomer (930). The broker-dealer can determine whether the order is abuy order (930, 932) or a sell order (930, 934).

Processing a Buy Order

FIG. 10 illustrates a process 1000 of receiving and processing an orderto purchase digital assets, liabilities, or other digital transactionalitems. The broker-dealer receives a buy order (1002) and determinesbased on the balance of the customer portfolio wallet, whether thecustomer has the buying power to make the purchase. Assuming thecustomer has the buying power to make the purchase; the broker-dealerconfirms the order with the customer (1004) and places a hold on thecash or cash-equivalent that the broker-dealer has on deposit for thecustomer (1006). Next, the broker-dealer creates an order message usinglegacy trading protocols for pre-trade communications and tradeexecution, such as a FIX order message or equivalent order message(1008). For purposes of this example, a FIX order message will be used.

When the Crypto Adapter receives the FIX order message, the CryptoAdapter maps the customer identifier to both the customer portfoliowallet and the customer committed wallet (1010). Next, the CryptoAdapter creates a digital representation of the funds such as a USDtoken, which represents that cash from the customer is being held at thebroker-dealer specifically to settle the trade (i.e., a digitalliability or IOU from the broker-dealer generally in the amount of thequantity multiplied by the price of the asset) (1012). The CryptoAdapter issues the token to the customer portfolio wallet on behalf ofthe broker-dealer, which is recorded to the distributed ledger (1014,1016).

Thereafter, the Crypto Adapter retrieves the customer portfolio walletbalance, which now includes the USD token, and the customer committedwallet balance from the crypto ledger (1018). The crypto ledger looks upthe balances and provides the balances to the Crypto Adapter (1020,1022). The Crypto Adapter determines whether the balance for the orderis available (1024). If the balance is available, the Crypto Adaptercreates and signs a crypto commitment transaction with the customer'sprivate key for the customer portfolio wallet to transfer the USD tokenin the customer committed wallet (1026). The crypto committedtransaction includes information such as a record of which address wasused to send the USD token to the customer portfolio wallet, the amountof the USD token, and the address of the customer committed wallet.After receiving the signed crypto committed transaction and verifyingit, the crypto ledger moves the USD token into the customer committedwallet by recording the transaction (1028) and the recordation isprovided to the Crypto Adapter (1030). The USD token remains in thecommitted wallet pending either the settlement or cancellation of thetransaction.

Once the USD token is moved from the customer portfolio wallet to thecustomer committed wallet (1032), the Crypto Adapter creates a FIX ordertransaction (which will eventually be sent to the ATS) and signs the FIXorder transaction using the private key for the customer portfoliowallet (1034). The Crypto Adapter compares the signature from the cryptocommitted transaction with the signature from the FIX order transactionand determines whether the signatures match (1036). The Crypto Adaptermay use asymmetric public key cryptography to determine whether thesignatures match.

By verifying that the FIX order transaction was signed by the same partywho signed the crypto committed transaction, the Crypto IntegrationPlatform can provide certainty that the FIX order transaction isassociated with the crypto committed transaction and therefore that thedigital funds are available for the transaction. Additionally, thecommitted order is public information, so the public can see that theorder has a committed balance.

If the signature from the committed transaction matches the signaturefrom the FIX order transaction, the ATS and/or the cryptographicexchange places the order (1038) and creates an execution report (1040),which includes an order identifier. The Crypto Adapter maps the orderidentifier to the crypto committed transaction hash (1042). Next,assuming the order is placed successfully (1044), the Crypto Adaptercreates an execution report indicating that the order is pending andissues the execution report to the broker-dealer (1046). The broker-dealcan update its system to reflect that the order is successfully pending(1048). As illustrated, the Crypto Integration Platform allows abroker-dealer to trade on a cryptographic exchange simply by sending aFIX order message.

Processing a Sell Order

FIG. 11 illustrates a process 1100 of receiving and processing an orderto sell digital assets, digital liabilities, or other digitaltransactional items on a cryptographic exchange. The process for theorder to sell is similar to the process for the order to purchaseassets, with one exception: there is no need to create a digitalliability because the asset is backed by a corporate network.

The broker-dealer receives a sell order (1102) and determines based onthe balance of the customer portfolio wallet provided by the CryptoAdapter whether the customer owns the asset to sell. Assuming thecustomer owns the asset to sell, the broker-dealer confirms the orderwith the customer (1104). Next, the broker-dealer creates a FIX ordermessage or equivalent order message for pre-trade communications andtrade execution (1106). For purposes of this example, a FIX ordermessage will be used.

When the Crypto Adapter receives the FIX order message, the CryptoAdapter maps the customer identifier to the customer portfolio walletand the customer committed wallet (1108). Next, the Crypto Adaptergathers the customer portfolio wallet balance and the customer committedwallet balance from the crypto ledger (1110, 1112, 1114). Assuming thedigital assets or liabilities for sale are associated with the customerportfolio wallet (1116), the Crypto Adapter creates a crypto committedtransaction and signs the crypto committed transaction using the privatekey for the customer portfolio wallet (1118). The crypto committedtransaction may include a record of which address was used to send thedigital assets to the customer portfolio wallet, an amount of the assetsbeing committed to the trade, and the address of the customer committedwallet. After the signed crypto committed transaction is received andverified, the crypto ledger moves the asset into the customer committedwallet (1120) and creates a transaction response (1122). The assetremains in the customer committed wallet pending either the settlementor cancellation of the transaction.

Once the asset is moved from the customer portfolio wallet to thecustomer committed wallet successfully (1124), the Crypto Adaptercreates a FIX order transaction and signs the FIX order transactionusing the private key for the customer committed wallet (1126). TheCrypto Adapter compares the signature from the committed transactionwith the signature from the FIX order transaction and determines whetherthe signatures match (1128). As discussed above, asymmetric public keycryptography can be used to ensure that the signatures match.

By verifying that the FIX order transaction was signed by the same partyas the crypto committed transaction, the Crypto Integration Platform canprovide certainty that the FIX order transaction is associated with thecommitted transaction and therefore that the asset is available for thetransaction.

If the signature from the committed transaction matches the signaturefrom the FIX order transaction, the cryptographic exchange places theorder (1130) and creates an execution report (1132), which includes anorder identifier. The Crypto Adapter maps the order identifier to thecrypto commitment transaction hash (1134). Next, assuming success(1136), the Crypto Adapter creates an execution report indicating thatthe order is pending and issues the execution report to thebroker-dealer (1138). The broker-dealer can update its system toindicate that the order is successfully pending (1140).

Processing a Cancel Order

FIG. 12 illustrates a process 1200 of canceling a transaction to sell orpurchase digital transactional items. If the order to cancel issuccessful, the digital transactional items (e.g., assets or digitalfunds) in a customer committed wallet pending a sale or purchase aremoved back to the customer portfolio wallet If the digital transactionalitems have not yet been moved to the customer committed wallet, thecancel order ensures that the digital transactional items will not bemoved to the customer committed wallet. The Crypto Integration Platformallows for cancellation of an order by showing that the cancellation isbeing ordered by the same entity that signed the original FIXtransaction.

The broker-dealer receives a request to cancel an order (1202) and sendsthe request, including the customer identifier, to the Crypto Adapter(1204). When the Crypto Adapter receives the request to cancel theorder, the Crypto Adapter maps the customer identifier to the customerportfolio wallet and the customer committed wallet (1206). Next, theCrypto Adapter checks the customer portfolio wallet balance and thecustomer committed wallet balance by querying the crypto ledger (1208,1210). The crypto ledger looks up the customer's wallet balances (1210)and provides a response to the Crypto Adapter (1212).

Then, the Crypto Adapter determines whether the contents of the cancelorder are in the customer committed wallet (i.e., the assets to be soldor the digital currency to be used for a purchase) (1214). If thecontents of the cancel order are not in the customer committed wallet(i.e., the order has already been part of a settlement process), thecancel order is not carried out. If the contents of the cancel order arein the customer committed wallet, the Crypto Adapter creates a FIXcancel transaction and signs the FIX cancel transaction with the privatekey used to sign the original order that transferred the digital fundsor assets into the customer committed wallet (i.e., the private key forthe customer portfolio wallet) (1216). The original order is identifiedby the order identifier that is returned by the crypto matchingcomponent and/or the crypto order transaction.

Next, the Crypto Adapter compares the signature from the cryptocommitted transaction associated with the order with the signature fromthe FIX cancel transaction and determines whether the signatures match(1218). If the signature from the crypto cancel transaction matches thesignature from the FIX cancel transaction, the cryptographic exchangecancels the order and creates an execution report, which includes anorder identifier (1220). The cryptographic exchange creates an executionreport 1222 for the Crypto Adapter. The Crypto Adapter maps the orderidentifier to the crypto cancel transaction hash (1224). Next, assuminga successful cancel of the order on the cryptographic exchange (1226),the Crypto Adapter creates and signs a crypto cancel transaction withthe private key used to sign the cancel order and the order thattransferred the digital funds or assets into the customer committedwallet (i.e., the private key for the customer committed wallet) (1228).The crypto ledger moves the digital funds or asset from the customercommitted wallet into the customer portfolio wallet (1230) and creates atransaction response (1232). Assuming success (1234), the Crypto Adapterthen creates an execution report indicating that the order is canceledand issues the execution report to the broker-dealer (1236). Thebroker-dealer then updates its system with the success cancellation ofthe order (1238).

Matching Orders

FIG. 13 illustrates a process 1300 of settling and clearing transactionsfor the purchase or sale of digital assets. The ATS identifies apotential match between a committed buy order and a committed sell order(1302) and sends a match request to the Crypto Matching Component toverify that the potential match is truly a match (i.e., that the walletbalances associated with each order identifiers are available) (1304).

The Crypto Matching Component receives the match request (1306), mapsthe order identifiers to the respective committed wallets (1308), andqueries the crypto ledger for the customer committed wallet balancesassociated with both the buy order and the sell order (1310). The CryptoLedger retrieves the balances (1312), creates a balance response (1314),and provides the balance response to the Crypto Matching Component(1316). The Crypto Matching Component verifies that the balances areavailable (1318). Assuming the corresponding buy and sell balances arepresent in the customer committed wallets; the Crypto Matching Componentcreates a match request to match the orders (1320). The match requestincludes the signature for the counterparty's customer portfolio walletand/or counterparty hash for each order which identifies the originalorder and is publicly distributed on the ledger (1320). For example, thehash for the sell order is the identifier created when moving the assetfrom the customer portfolio wallet into the customer committed wallet.Similarly, the hash for the buy order is the identifier created duringthe transaction that moved the USD token into a committed state.

Once the cryptographic exchange receives the match request responseindicating a match, the cryptographic exchange matches the transaction,commits the matched transaction (1322) by recording the exchange ofassets/funds to the respective counterparty's customer portfolio walletsand creates the order execution (1330), which is routed to the CryptoBridge and communicated to the broker dealer. Simultaneously or nearlysimultaneously, the Crypto Matching Component settles and clearstransactions using the counterparty hash (1324). The settlement andclearing of the transactions includes deducting the digital funds orassets from the purchasing or selling customer's committed wallet,respectively (1326), and crediting the purchasing and selling customerportfolio wallets with assets and digital funds, respectively (1328).The cryptographic exchange routes the order execution to the CryptoBridge (1332), which routes the results of successful transaction to thebroker-dealer (1334).

Various embodiments of the present disclosure are described below.

-   -   1. A computerized method comprising:    -   creating, by a computer, a first addressed account and a second        addressed account, each having a common identifier and each        associated with a first customer;    -   receiving, from a remote computing device, an order for        exchanging one or more digital transactional items associated        with the first addressed account, wherein the order is        associated with the common identifier;    -   electronically signing, with a private key associated with the        first addressed account, a first transaction to transfer the one        or more digital transactional items from the first addressed        account to the second addressed account;    -   electronically signing, with the private key associated with the        first addressed account, a second transaction;    -   verifying that the first transaction was signed with the same        private key as the second transaction; and    -   authorizing placement of the order on a cryptographic exchange        upon verifying that the first transaction was signed with the        same private key as the second transaction.    -   2. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the second        addressed account is associated with a second key pair which        includes a second public key and a second private key.    -   3. The computerized method of claim 1, further comprising:    -   receiving confirmation, from a distributed ledger, that the one        or more digital transactional items associated with the order        are associated with the first addressed account by using the        first public key; and    -   upon receiving the confirmation that the one or more digital        transactional items associated with the order are associated        with the first addressed account, creating the first transaction        and the second transaction.    -   4. The computerized method of claim 1, further comprising        communicating, to a distributed ledger, a balance of the first        addressed account and the second addressed account.    -   5. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the order is an        order to purchase a digital asset or a digital liability, the        computerized method further comprising:    -   receiving, from the remote computing device, information        indicating that funds are available to purchase the digital        asset or the digital liability, wherein the one or more digital        transactional items is a digital representation of the funds;        and    -   associating the digital representation of the funds with the        first addressed account as the one or more digital transactional        items.    -   6. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the order is an        order to sell the one or more digital transactional items,        wherein the one or more digital transactional items is one or        more digital assets or one or more digital liabilities, the        computerized method further comprising:    -   receiving, from the remote computing device, information        indicating that assets corresponding to the one or more digital        assets or liabilities corresponding to the one or more digital        liabilities are available to sell.    -   7. The computerized method of claim 1, further comprising        creating a third addressed account, wherein the third digital        addressed account includes a first key pair associated with the        first addressed account and a second key pair associated with        the second addressed account.    -   8. The computerized method of claim 1, further comprising:    -   creating the first transaction, wherein the first transaction        includes at least one of: the one or more digital transactional        items, the identifier, and a public key of the second addressed        account;    -   creating a hash of the first transaction; and    -   creating the second transaction, wherein the second transaction        includes at least one of: a type of the order, the identifier, a        public key of the second addressed account, and the hash of the        first transaction.    -   9. The computerized method of claim 1, further comprising    -   sending the first transaction to the cryptographic exchange; and    -   sending the second transaction to an alternative trading system.    -   10. The computerized method of claim 9, further comprising:    -   receiving a notification that the order has been matched to a        second order on the cryptographic exchange; and    -   creating an execution report.    -   11. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the first        addressed account is a customer portfolio account, wherein the        second addressed account is a customer committed account.    -   12. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the first        transaction includes at least one of: funds in an amount        corresponding to a value of the first transaction or a        representation of the funds in the amount corresponding to the        value of the first transaction and a public key of the first        addressed account, and wherein the second transaction includes        at least one of: a public key of the second addressed account, a        type of the order, the identifier, a public key of the second        addressed account, and a hash of the first transaction.    -   13. A computerized method comprising    -   receiving, from a broker-dealer, a request to match a buy        transaction with a sell transaction,        -   wherein the buy transaction includes a buy order to purchase            one or more digital transactional items for an amount            corresponding to a value of the one or more digital            transactional items and the sell transaction includes a sell            order to sell the one or more digital transactional items            for the amount,        -   wherein the buy transaction has an associated first            signature that corresponds to a first addressed account that            identifies the buy order, wherein the sell transaction has            an associated second signature corresponding to a second            addressed account that identifies the sell order, the first            addressed account being associated with a first customer and            the second addressed account being associated with a second            customer,        -   wherein the amount is associated with a third addressed            account associated with the first customer and the one or            more digital transactional items are associated with a            fourth addressed account associated with the second            customer;    -   mapping, by a computer, the buy transaction to the third        addressed account and the sell transaction to the fourth        addressed account;    -   sending, to the cryptographic exchange, a match request response        including the first signature and the second signature to commit        the buy transaction; and    -   transferring the one or more digital transactional items to the        first addressed account and transferring the amount to the        second addressed account to settle and clear the buy transaction        and the sell transaction.    -   14. The method of claim 13, further comprising    -   receiving confirmation, from a distributed ledger, that the        amount is associated with the third addressed account and that        the one or more digital transactional items are associated with        the fourth addressed account prior to sending the match request        response.    -   15. The computerized method of claim 13, wherein the one or more        digital transactional items include one or more of digital        assets or digital liabilities, wherein the amount includes an        amount of currency, cryptographic currency, or a representation        of the currency or the cryptographic currency corresponding to a        value of the one or more digital transactional items.    -   16. The computerized method of claim 13, further comprising        publishing, to a remote computing device, results of settling        and clearing the buy transaction and the sell transaction.    -   17. The computerized method of claim 13, wherein the first        signature is a private key associated with the first addressed        account, wherein the second signature is a private key        associated with the second addressed account.    -   18. The computerized method of claim 13, wherein:    -   the first addressed account is a customer portfolio account        associated with the first customer,    -   the second addressed account is a customer portfolio account        associated with the second customer,    -   the third addressed account is a customer committed account        associated with the first customer, and    -   the fourth addressed account is a customer committed account        associated with the second customer.    -   19. A cryptographic integration system, comprising:    -   at least one processor; and    -   at least one computer readable storage medium having        instructions stored thereon, which when executed by the at least        one processor causes the cryptographic integration system to:        -   receive an order to execute a trade for one or more digital            transactional items associated with a first addressed            account, wherein the order, the first addressed account, and            a second addressed account are associated with an            identifier;        -   generate a first transaction to transfer the one or more            digital transactional items from the first addressed account            to the second addressed account;        -   generate a second transaction that includes the order,        -   verify that the first transaction was authorized by a same            party as the second transaction; and        -   authorize placement of the order on a cryptographic exchange            after verifying that the first transaction was authorized by            the same party as the second transaction.    -   20. The cryptographic integration system of claim 19, wherein        the first transaction is authorized by the same party as the        second transaction when the first transaction and the second        transaction are signed by a same key.    -   21. The cryptographic integration systems of claim 20, wherein        the key is a private key of the first addressed account, and        wherein the second transaction includes a hash of the first        transaction.    -   22. The cryptographic integration system of claim 19, wherein        the instructions, which when executed by the at least one        processor further cause the cryptographic integration system to:    -   receive, from the cryptographic exchange, a request to match the        order with a second order, wherein the second order is        associated with a second identifier; and    -   transfer the one or more digital transactional items to an        addressed account associated with the second identifier and        transfer one or more other digital transactional items into the        first addressed account to settle and clear the order.    -   23. The cryptographic integration system of claim 19, further        comprising a cryptographic adapter component adapted for:    -   sending the first transaction to the cryptographic exchange; and    -   sending the second transaction to an alternative trading system.    -   24. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including        a set of instructions that, when executed by one or more        processors, cause a machine to:    -   create a first addressed account and a second addressed account,        each having a common identifier and each associated with a first        customer;    -   receive an order for exchanging one or more digital        transactional items associated with the first addressed account,        wherein the order is associated with the common identifier;    -   electronically sign, with a private key associated with the        first addressed account, a first transaction to transfer the one        or more digital transactional items from the first addressed        account to the second addressed account;    -   electronically sign, with the private key associated the first        addressed account, a second transaction;    -   verify that the first transaction was signed with the same        private key as the second transaction; and    -   authorize placement of the order on a cryptographic exchange        upon verifying that the first transaction was signed with the        same private key as the second transaction.    -   25. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including        a set of instructions that, when executed by one or more        processors, cause a machine to:    -   receive, from a broker-dealer, a request to match a buy        transaction with a sell transaction,        -   wherein the buy transaction includes a buy order to purchase            one or more digital transactional items for an amount            corresponding to a value of the one or more digital            transactional items and the sell transaction includes a sell            order to sell the one or more digital transactional items            for the amount,        -   wherein the buy transaction has an associated first            signature that corresponds to a first addressed account that            identifies the buy order, wherein the sell transaction has            an associated second signature corresponding to a second            addressed account that identifies the sell order, the first            addressed account being associated with a first customer and            the second addressed account being associated with a second            customer,        -   wherein the amount is associated with a third addressed            account associated with the first customer and the one or            more digital transactional items are associated with a            fourth addressed account associated with the second            customer;    -   map the buy transaction to the third addressed account and the        sell transaction to a fourth addressed account;    -   send, to the cryptographic exchange, a match request response        including the first signature and the second signature to commit        the buy transaction; and    -   transfer the one or more digital items to the first addressed        account and transferring the amount to the second addressed        account to settle and clear the buy transaction and the sell        transaction.

Computer System Overview

Embodiments of the present disclosure include various steps andoperations, which have been described above. A variety of these stepsand operations may be performed by hardware components or may beembodied in machine-executable instructions, which may be used to causea general-purpose or special-purpose processor programmed with theinstructions to perform the steps. Alternatively, the steps may beperformed by a combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. Assuch, FIG. 14 is an example of a computer system 1400 with whichembodiments of the present disclosure may be utilized. According to thepresent example, the computer system 1400 includes an interconnect 1410,at least one processor 1420, at least one communication port 1430, amain memory 1440, a removable storage media 1450, a read only memory1460, and a mass storage device 1470.

Processor(s) 1420 can be any known processor. Communication port(s) 1430can be or include, for example, any of an RS-232 port for use with amodem-based dialup connection, a 10/100 Ethernet port, or a Gigabit portusing copper or fiber. The nature of communication port(s) 1430 may bechosen depending on a network such as Local Area Network (LAN), WideArea Network (WAN), or any network to which the computer system 1400connects.

Main memory 1440 can be Random Access Memory (RAM), or any other dynamicstorage device(s) commonly known in the art. Read only memory 1460 canbe any static storage device(s) such as Programmable Read Only Memory(PROM) chips for storing static information such as instructions forprocessor 1420.

Mass storage device 1470 can be used to store information andinstructions. For example, hard disks such as the Adaptec® family ofSCSI drives, an optical disc, an array of disks such as RAID, such asthe Adaptec family of RAID drives, or any other mass storage devices maybe used.

Interconnect 1410 can be or include one or more buses, bridges,controllers, adapters, and/or point-to-point connections. Interconnect1410 communicatively couples processor(s) 1420 with the other memory,storage, and communication blocks. Interconnect 1410 can be a PCl/PCI-Xor SCSI based system bus depending on the storage devices used.

Removable storage media 1450 can be any kind of external hard-drives,floppy drives, Compact Disc-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), CompactDisc-Re-Writable (CD-RW), Digital Video Disc-Read Only Memory (DVD-ROM).

The components described above are meant to exemplify some types ofpossibilities. In no way should the aforementioned examples limit thedisclosure, as they are only exemplary embodiments.

Terminology

Brief definitions of terms, abbreviations, and phrases used throughoutthis application are given below.

The terms “connected” or “coupled” and related terms are used in anoperational sense and are not necessarily limited to a direct physicalconnection or coupling. Thus, for example, two devices may be coupleddirectly, or via one or more intermediary media or devices. As anotherexample, devices may be coupled in such a way that information can bepassed therebetween, while not sharing any physical connection with oneanother. Based on the disclosure provided herein, one of ordinary skillin the art will appreciate a variety of ways in which connection orcoupling exists in accordance with the aforementioned definition.

The phrases “in some embodiments,” “according to some embodiments,” “inthe embodiments shown,” “in other embodiments,” “embodiments,” and thelike generally mean the particular feature, structure, or characteristicfollowing the phrase is included in at least one embodiment of thepresent disclosure, and may be included in more than one embodiment ofthe present disclosure. In addition, such phrases do not necessarilyrefer to the same embodiments or different embodiments.

If the specification states a component or feature “may,” “can,”“could,” or “might” be included or have a characteristic, thatparticular component or feature is not required to be included or havethe characteristic.

The term “responsive” includes completely or partially responsive.

The term “module” refers broadly to a software, hardware, or firmware(or any combination thereof) component. Modules are typically functionalcomponents that can generate useful data or other output using specifiedinput(s). A module may or may not be self-contained. An applicationprogram (also called an “application”) may include one or more modules,or a module can include one or more application programs.

The term “network” generally refers to a group of interconnected devicescapable of exchanging information. A network may be as few as severalpersonal computers on a Local Area Network (LAN) or as large as theInternet, a worldwide network of computers. As used herein, “network” isintended to encompass any network capable of transmitting informationfrom one entity to another. In some cases, a network may be comprised ofmultiple networks, even multiple heterogeneous networks, such as one ormore border networks, voice networks, broadband networks, financialnetworks, service provider networks, Internet Service Provider (ISP)networks, and/or Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTNs),interconnected via gateways operable to facilitate communicationsbetween and among the various networks.

Also, for the sake of illustration, various embodiments of the presentdisclosure have herein been described in the context of computerprograms, physical components, and logical interactions within moderncomputer networks. Importantly, while these embodiments describe variousembodiments of the present disclosure in relation to modern computernetworks and programs, the method and apparatus described herein areequally applicable to other systems, devices, and networks as oneskilled in the art will appreciate. As such, the illustratedapplications of the embodiments of the present disclosure are not meantto be limiting, but instead are examples. Other systems, devices, andnetworks to which embodiments of the present disclosure are applicableinclude, for example, other types of communication and computer devicesand systems. More specifically, embodiments are applicable tocommunication systems, services, and devices such as cell phone networksand compatible devices. In addition, embodiments are applicable to alllevels of computing from the personal computer to large networkmainframes and servers.

In conclusion, the present disclosure provides novel systems, methods,and arrangements for trading digital transactional items. While detaileddescriptions of one or more embodiments of the disclosure have beengiven above, various alternatives, modifications, and equivalents willbe apparent to those skilled in the art without varying from the spiritof the disclosure. For example, while the embodiments described aboverefer to particular features, the scope of this disclosure also includesembodiments having different combinations of features and embodimentsthat do not include all of the described features. Accordingly, thescope of the present disclosure is intended to embrace all suchalternatives, modifications, and variations that fall within the scopeof the claims, together with all equivalents thereof. Therefore, theabove description should not be taken as limiting.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: at least one processor; andat least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least oneprocessor; and wherein the at least one processor is configured to:receive an order to execute a trade of at least one transactional itemassociated with a first account, wherein the order, the first account,and a second account are associated with a common identifier; generate afirst transaction to transfer the at least one transactional item fromthe first account to the second account; generate a second transactionthat includes the order; verify that the first transaction wasauthorized by a same party as the second transaction; and authorizeplacement of the order on an exchange if the first transaction wasauthorized by the same party as the second transaction.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive arequest to match the order with a second order from the exchange,wherein the second order is associated with a second identifier; andtransfer the at least one transactional item to an account associatedwith the second identifier and transfer at least one other transactionalitem into the first account to settle and clear the order.
 3. The systemof claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: sendthe first transaction to the exchange; and send the second transactionto an alternative trading system.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein thefirst transaction is authorized by the same party as the secondtransaction when the first transaction and the second transaction aresigned by a same key.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the key is aprivate key of the first account, and wherein the second transactionincludes a hash of the first transaction.
 6. The system of claim 1,wherein the at least one transactional item includes at least one of adigital asset, a digital liability, an amount of currency, an amount ofcryptographic currency, or a representation of the currency or thecryptographic currency.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein: the firstaccount is a customer portfolio account associated with a first customerassociated with the common identifier; and the second account is acustomer committed account associated with the first customer.
 8. Acomputer-readable storage medium including a set of instructions that,when executed by at least one processor, cause a machine to: receive anorder to execute a trade of at least one transactional item associatedwith a first account, wherein the order, the first account, and a secondaccount are associated with a common identifier; generate a firsttransaction to transfer the at least one transactional item from thefirst account to the second account; generate a second transaction thatincludes the order; verify that the first transaction was authorized bya same party as the second transaction; and authorize placement of theorder on an exchange if the first transaction was authorized by the sameparty as the second transaction.
 9. The computer-readable storage mediumof claim 8, wherein the set of instructions, when executed by the atleast one processor, cause the machine to: receive a request to matchthe order with a second order from the exchange, wherein the secondorder is associated with a second identifier; and transfer the at leastone transactional item to an account associated with the secondidentifier and transfer at least one other transactional item into thefirst account to settle and clear the order.
 10. The computer-readablestorage medium of claim 8, wherein the set of instructions, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, cause the machine to: send thefirst transaction to the exchange; and send the second transaction to analternative trading system.
 11. The computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 8, wherein the first transaction is authorized by the same partyas the second transaction when the first transaction and the secondtransaction are signed by a same key.
 12. The computer-readable storagemedium of claim 8, wherein the at least one transactional item includesat least one of a digital asset, a digital liability, an amount ofcurrency, an amount of cryptographic currency, or a representation ofthe currency or the cryptographic currency.
 13. The computer-readablestorage medium of claim 8, wherein: the first account is a customerportfolio account associated with a first customer associated with thecommon identifier; and the second account is a customer committedaccount associated with the first customer.
 14. A method, comprising:receiving an order to execute a trade of at least one transactional itemassociated with a first account, wherein the order, the first account,and a second account are associated with a common identifier; generatinga first transaction to transfer the at least one transactional item fromthe first account to the second account; generating a second transactionthat includes the order; verifying that the first transaction wasauthorized by a same party as the second transaction; and authorizingplacement of the order on an exchange if the first transaction wasauthorized by the same party as the second transaction.
 15. The methodof claim 14, further comprising: receiving a request to match the orderwith a second order from the exchange, wherein the second order isassociated with a second identifier; and transferring the at least onetransactional item to an account associated with the second identifierand transfer at least one other transactional item into the firstaccount to settle and clear the order.
 16. The method of claim 14,further comprising: sending the first transaction to the exchange; andsending the second transaction to an alternative trading system.
 17. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the first transaction is authorized by thesame party as the second transaction when the first transaction and thesecond transaction are signed by a same key.
 18. The method of claim 14,wherein the at least one transactional item includes at least one of adigital asset, a digital liability, an amount of currency, an amount ofcryptographic currency, or a representation of the currency or thecryptographic currency.
 19. The method of claim 14, wherein: the firstaccount is a customer portfolio account associated with a first customerassociated with the common identifier; and the second account is acustomer committed account associated with the first customer.